Last month I traveled to Maine to visit relatives and do a little hiking.  While there I stopped at a gardening shop which sold souvenirs, local produce including maple syrup, blackberry and blueberry jams, and pumpkins. So, I walked about looking for the best pumpkin to bring home. I found a nice, round one with a strong stem. Thus, I bought my first pumpkin of the season before heading back to New Jersey.

Then I volunteered at a thrift store and food pantry in Montclair, New Jersey.

Hundreds of pumpkins in all sizes amassed together on the lawn outside the church. Proceeds from their sale were to help provide services for Navajo. So, I bought another pumpkin, another medium sized one with a nice, round head for carving and lighting up.

I prefer to go to those pick-your-own pumpkins and apples places, but I took the easier route by buying off the lawn.  

Why are pumpkins used on Halloween?

Long ago in Ireland, people took turnips or other root vegetables, hollowed them out, and carved hideous faces on them to frighten away evil spirits. When Irish immigrants came to America in the early 1800’s, they used pumpkins to create jack-o-lanterns. The name Jack came from an Irish folktale about a stingy man named Jack. The tradition of carving faces on pumpkins, or painting them was born.

Where did Halloween come from?

Halloween, itself, has its roots in the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain which marked the end of the harvest season in Ireland. Bonfires were lit, and people dressed in costumes. Today, Samhain is still celebrated all over Ireland. Some of the rituals associated with it include dancing, feasting, taking nature walks, and building altars to honor one’s ancestors.

How come ghosts are associated with Halloween?

There is an ancient belief that the veil between the living and those who have gone to spirit, is thinnest during Halloween. It is also felt that this is a good time for divination, or fortune telling. Halloween is “All Hallow’s Eve”, the day before the Christian remembrance and holy day of obligation of All Saint’s Day, which is November 1. In Mexico, the celebration of The Day of the Dead or El Dia del Muerto, is November 1 to November 2, which are recognized as All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day in Christian beliefs. Tales about ghosts have been around for thousands of years and have come from all parts of the world.

I have had a few paranormal experiences, which are experiences which are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. I stayed overnight at a haunted inn in Sweden. Although nothing very unusual happened, there were some strange occurrences, like water dripping from a faucet at odd times and what seemed like a shadow passing the doorway. The room had witnessed the tragic suicide of a young man who’d been jilted a century earlier by a former inn owner’s daughter. During an overnight stay years ago at the Parador de Carmona, a lovely and ancient castle near Seville, Spain. A gust of wind blew in despite the windows being shut, and I thought that I heard sounds of an army charging outside the castle walls. Vivid imagination? Maybe or maybe not. I’ve spoken to people who claim to have had similar experiences and have sensed the presence of departed loved ones or had premonitions which later happened.

Ghosts are considered to be the soul or the spirit of a human or a non-human animal, who has died but has not gone to an eternal rest. In 2018, a yearly survey asking people in the United States about their belief in the paranormal, found that 58 percent of those polled believed in “haunted places”. In addition, “one in five people in another survey conducted by Pew Research Center, in Washington, D.C., said that “they’ve seen or been in the presence of a ghost”.

My young adult books, A Kiss Out of Time and the sequel A Dance Out of Time features ghosts, a fortune teller, and a psychic teenager who tries to help troubled ghosts cross over to the Other Side and find eternal peace. 

So, do you have a favorite Halloween tradition? Do you believe in ghosts? Write a comment, and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

In the spirit of Halloween, I will be treating the first three who respond with an appropriate comment to a copy of each of these books. 

Thank you. — Cathy G.